Storm chasers aside, the extent to which you followed Hurricane Ian‘s path as it headed toward civilization is no doubt proportional to your personal connection to the land, structures, and people it threatened. And that’s reasonable, right? There’s too much destruction in the world to pay close attention to all of it. So we prioritize what’s most important or interesting to us.
I’ve had family in Florida for years. And every time a hurricane has threatened to hit, I’ve worried a bit and checked in–paid more attention than when such disasters are in far away, unknown lands of strangers. But for a good portion of this year, I lived in Florida. I met new people, bought groceries, scheduled appointments, and worked. Recently I went back for a visit to reconnect. I returned two days before the Tampa airport suspended operations for the storm, knowing some of my loved ones were safe and others were at risk.
If we know each other, you hopefully experience me as an empathetic leader. Empathy is my top CliftonStrengths™ theme, a key factor in my Emotional Intelligence, and one of my top three values. It’s a talent I use regularly–in work and life.
But tracking hurricane Ian reminded me of the limits of empathy alone. Because this time, my shared experience as a Floridian drew me in unlike before. On the hurricane’s approach, I imagined the horror of being swept up in a sudden storm surge, the complex burden of caring for those less abled, the impossibility of protecting property, the logistics of stocking up on drinking water, the obstacles of being without power. In its aftermath, I wondered about insurance policies, utility outages, trauma.
Reflecting on this, I was reminded that the more we know about others, their worlds, and their experiences, the more equipped we are to relate and care. When lacking such knowledge, we are less likely to tune in to others. When we do pay attention, we rely on our own assumptions and struggle to put ourselves in their proverbial shoes.
At its worst, replacing unknowing with false knowing leads to neglect, discrimination, and conflict. At its best, it causes us to miss opportunities to learn, connect, support, grow, and innovate. As leaders, we need to do better.
When we don’t know much about another person or have some innate connection to a group, we tend to distance them from our hearts and minds. Consciously or not, we conveniently dismiss people and situations we don’t care enough about to invest in. Think about this as you go through the next few days. Notice the individuals and information you steer toward and away from. How does it serve you? How does it serve the people in your personal and professional lives?
My deeper connection to Floridians changed the way I heard the news for this hurricane. This was my reminder to proactively keep learning–about people, perspectives, and things I don’t understand. To regularly step out of my place in the world so that I can better know more of it.
Continually expanding our awareness and understanding is a leadership imperative. But it is not a chore; it’s an opportunity, an infinite source of gifts waiting to be unwrapped. Books and articles to be read, conversations to be started, places to be visited, skills to be learned, connections to be deepened. That’s how we grow as empathetic leaders. And that helps us all weather any storm.
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